As battery technology goes from strength to strength, particularly in relation to electric vehicles, there is growing interest in the question of what to do with the inevitable battery waste that will result once they reach the end of their usable lives. Additionally, given forecasts of shortages of the materials needed for batteries and corresponding cost increases, it would be expected that efforts to make the battery economy a circular one would be worthwhile. Investors appear to believe that this is the case with development of new facilities being regularly announced. For example, Altilium Metals Ltd has recently secured £18.5 million to build the UK's first commercial battery recycling facility. This direction of travel also appears to be borne out in an analysis of patent filing trends recently published by the EPO.
A key highlight of the report is that patent filings relating to processing batteries at end-of-life have increased seven-fold in the last decade, making it one of the fastest growing areas for innovation. For comparison, patent filings relating to 'battery circularity' have grown at 42% per year in this time period, compared to 16% per year for rechargeable batteries, and just 2% per year across all technical fields.
As for the EPO's previous reports examining battery technologies, applicants based in Asia are the most prolific, accounting for 63% of applications filed in 2023. Major players include China's Brunp (the recycling subsidiary of CATL), South Korea's LG, and Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. The report contains a wealth of information and makes a distinction between the various stages of the recycling process. Growth has been rapid across all areas, but is especially pronounced for applications relating to the chemical 'transformation' of spent batteries. Of particular note, the rate of filing of these applications relating to 'transformation' overtook that of applications relating to treatment of raw materials for batteries in 2020, and shows no signs of slowing down.
“In the age of electricity, batteries have become a cornerstone of energy security and industrial competitiveness, but their full value will only be realised if countries build strong circular systems around them” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol
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